Stars Lament Potential End of Hopman
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CRICKET | Page 4 SA ease to series-clinching win over Pakistan Monday, January 7, 2019 FOOTBALL Jumada I 1, 1440 AH Chhetri passes GULF TIMES Messi as India beat Thailand 4-1 SPORT Page 2 FOOTBALL / AFC ASIAN CUP Australian horror show as Jordan stun champions Australia, who had 76 percent of possession, were thwarted by Bani-Yaseen’s powerful first-half header AFP competitive international, saw Al Ain, United Arab Emirates a close-range shot blocked by Shafi. The youthful Socceroos had ustralia’s Asian Cup plenty of possession in the op- title defence suff ered position half but rarely threat- a huge blow yester- ened, while Jordan were intent day when they were on breaking Australia’s fl ow and Astunned 1-0 by Jordan in their seeking chances on the break. worst ever start to the competi- Their goal came from a corner tion. on 26 minutes, when defender Graham Arnold’s youthful Bani-Yaseen escaped Luongo’s side had confidently predicted marking and put a thump- victory in their Group B opener ing header into the top corner, but they were undone by Anas prompting jubilation in the Bani-Yaseen’s powerful first- strongly pro-Jordan crowd of half header. just under 5,000. Australia, who had 76 percent Suddenly Australia were rocking of possession but only six shots and three minutes later, they were on target, were thwarted by a grateful for Ryan’s fi nger-tip save brilliant double save from Jor- as he pushed Baha Abdelrahman’s dan’s Amir Shafi in the game’s free kick onto the bar. dying moments. In the second half, Arnold It left the injury-hit Aussies brought on Rhyan Grant and then with much to ponder ahead of Chris Ikonomidis to fi nd a way Friday’s game against Palestine, through Jordan’s defence. when they will need a win to get Celtic forward Tom Rogic’s their campaign up and running. stinging shot was kept out by The Jordanians lead group B Shafi , before Ikonomidis’s at- after the opening round of fi x- tempt at a follow-up was smoth- tures after a 0-0 draw in the ered by the defence. later game between Syria and Rogic passed up an opportu- Palestine, with the Palestinians nity for the equaliser on 72 min- holding on for a point despite utes, when he was free in the box Mohamed Saleh’s 69th minute but scooped his shot well over sending off . from Aziz Behich’s cross. Arnold, who led Australia to Six minutes later, the lively the 2007 quarter-fi nals in his Mabil smashed one off the up- fi rst stint as Socceroos boss, right with Shafi beaten, before called the goal “sloppy” and rued Ikonomidis’s header was scram- a slow start at the Hazza Bin Za- bled off the line. yed Stadium. Jamie Maclaren had a goal “It was one of those days, a Jordan’s Anas Bani-Yaseen (right) in action with Australia’s midfielder Massimo Luongo (left) during the AFC Asian Cup match in Al Ain, UAE, yesterday. (AFP) chalked off for offside and with frustrating day when the ball just the last action of the game, didn’t seem to bounce,” he said, about where we can improve. Luongo and Mark Milligan, and you something’, and today they FINGER-TIP SAVE Rawashdeh at his near post after Shafi denied both Ikonomidis adding: “If you’re going to lose a We’ll get over it very quickly.” exploited the space left by their were playing for the people of Australia bossed the opening Luongo was dispossessed. and Jackson Irvine, capping game, it’s better to lose your fi rst Jordan coach Vital Borkel- advancing backs, hailed his hard- Jordan,” said Borkelmans. exchanges but their Brighton Shortly afterwards, Aus- Australia’s misery and trigger- game. mans, who said he targeted Aus- running team. “They were running like they ’keeper Mat Ryan made the fi rst tralia’s former South Sudanese ing joyful celebrations among “It’s a wake-up call... it’s all tralia’s midfi elders Massimo “I told them today, ‘God gave had three lungs,” he added. save when he kept out Yousef refugee Awer Mabil, in his first the Jordanians. SPOTLIGHT Qatar coach to ‘isolate’ team from politics at Asian Cup AFP Afi f, the fi rst Qatari to play in Doha Spain’s La Liga, and defender Abdulkarim Hassan, just voted the AFC 2018 player of the year. atar coach Felix In November, Qatar achieved Sanchez has vowed its most notable international to “isolate” his play- victory, beating Switzerland 1-0 ers from politics at the in Lugano. QAsian Cup, which is taking place The average age of Qatar’s in the United Arab Emirates dur- starting line-up in Switzerland ing a diplomatic crisis. was 24 years and 195 days, and 13 The tournament represents of the 25 players who travelled to the fi rst visit by the Qatari na- Europe were Aspire graduates. tional side to the UAE since the Sanchez has worked with the beginning of the Gulf crisis. Qatari players at every level from Since June 2017, the UAE, the academy through the Under- along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain 19s, Under-20s, Under-23s and and Egypt, have imposed an ille- now the full team. gal blockade on Qatar. It is the beginning of a massive With the dispute now into its year for Sanchez and Qatar, who nineteenth month, the Asian Cup will also play in the Copa Amer- is the most high-profi le sporting Qatar players Hassan al-Haydos (left) and Abdulaziz Hatim disembark ica later in 2019. competition so far between the from the plane on their arrival in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. In an Asian Cup group also former allies. consisting of Lebanon and North And nothing is likely to be ments about Qatar, or encoun- a distinct improvement since Korea, a resurgent ‘al-Annabi’ more highly-charged than the tered rival captains refusing to Spaniard Sanchez took charge in (the Maroons) will be confi dent meeting between Saudi and Qa- shake hands before the match. 2017. of reaching the knockouts. tar in a Group E match in Abu Qatar coach Felix Sanchez walks to the team bus on arrival for the AFC Asian Cup on Saturday night. However, goalkeeper Saad al- He has placed emphasis on It is the tenth time they have Dhabi on January 17. Sheeb said the players would re- young, largely Qatari-born play- qualifi ed for the Asian Cup but As if the on-pitch weight of concentrate solely on football. maintain their focus on the sport been imposed against Doha by main unaff ected. ers — rather than imported stars have never progressed further expectation surrounding Qatar’s “This [political situation] is and to isolate ourselves from the the UAE, Saudi and Bahrain. “In the end this is football,” he — who have progressed through than the quarter-fi nals. young team ahead of hosting the something we’ve discussed with rest of it all.” Qatari domestic sides who said. “We just control ourselves the Aspire Academy, a state- This time though they have a 2022 World Cup was not enough, the players,” he told AFP. The team arrived in UAE on have played in the UAE or Saudi and play football.” of-the-art Doha training centre lot to prove. now they have to navigate a deli- “They are very conscious and Saturday, having to fl y via Kuwait in the AFC Champions League which seeks to hothouse local “I certainly nominate Qatar to cate off -fi eld situation. I am convinced that during the in the fi rst sign this is no ordinary have previously spoken of delays IMPROVEMENT talent. be the dark horse of the tourna- Sanchez though has vowed to competition they will be able to trip — a ban on direct fl ights has at airport immigration and com- On the pitch, Qatar have shown These include forward Akram ment,” said Hassan. Gulf Times 2 Monday, January 7, 2019 FOOTBALL AFC ASIAN CUP LA LIGA Griezmann special Chhetri passes Messi earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla Reuters right at the end of the fi rst half Seville through Griezmann’s sizzling set-piece. The draw left Atletico second as India beat Thailand stunning free kick goal in the standings on 35 points with from Antoine Griez- Sevilla third on 33, while Barce- With 67 goals in his kitty, now only Ronaldo (85) tops Chhetri among active players mann earned Atletico lona, on 37 points and in action Madrid a 1-1 draw against Getafe later yesterday, Aagainst Sevilla in an entertaining were handed the chance to move game between La Liga’s second fi ve points clear at the top. and third-placed sides yesterday In a calmer second half, Atleti- which weakened both sides’ pur- co, who created few chances suit of leaders Barcelona. throughout the game, managed to Sevilla took a deserved lead at plug the holes that Sevilla, through a packed and rocking Sanchez veteran winger Jesus Navas in par- Pizjuan stadium in the 37th ticular, had been exploiting. minute with a close-range strike Ben Yedder missed another from Wissam Ben Yedder follow- chance for the home side, fail- ing a clever team move, shortly ing to fi nd the target when clean after striker Andre Silva had also through while team mate Quincy smacked the post for them. Promes saw an arrowed eff ort Ben Yedder missed a clear tipped away by Oblak.